Rented retirement homes provider Birchgrove and Hybr, a student letting platform, are developing an intergenerational living scheme which will see retirees living in the same purpose-built, privately rented retirement development as students and key workers.

Ayrton House is a new £36 million 60-apartment rental retirement community in Mill Hill, North London. When launched in October this year, 16 apartments across the third and fourth floors will be offered exclusively to trainee doctors and nurses from the local hospital, university postgraduates and graduate scheme students.

The students will live at Ayrton House on short-term tenancies running until June next year, sharing communal facilities with the development’s retirees, including full access to the gym and the same subsidised rates in the restaurant. The rent on the 16 student units will be approximately 50% of market value and at the end of the tenancies, the units will be vacated and restored to first use state, before being let to retirees.

Ayrton House is Birchgrove’s third development in the capital, and the ninth in its portfolio. The development is the centrepiece of ‘Ridgeway Views’ residential scheme, a 47-acre, 528-home project in Mill Hill’s conservation area, and will offer residents a restaurant, club room, licensed bar and wellness suite, as well as landscaped gardens.

Honor Barratt, chief executive of Birchgrove said: “Traditionally, intergenerational living took the form of generations of the same family residing together in a single household. Today, we are pioneering a new model, one that brings different generations together within the same purpose-built housing development. It’s a unique approach, one that we’re hugely excited about, and that we believe will really benefit both young and elderly residents alike.”

Hannah Chappatte, founder of Hybr commented: “We’re breaking down stereotypes and breaking the mould of traditional housing. Honor and I saw an opportunity to address the two loneliest subsections of societies, the under-25s and the over-70s. We’re tackling the housing crisis for students, where students need more available housing options, while finding a solution to the severe loneliness amongst seniors.

“The seniors support the younger people by making them feel like they have a purpose and familial presence, and seniors get to be around the young to create a more upbeat environment, fostering connections that enrich lives and reduce loneliness. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a real win, win for those that buy into the concept.”